The Twinkle
by LostNDreamland
Summary: Kirby becomes infected by an incurable virus that will turn him into a thoughless, heartless, evil killing monster. King Dedede refuses to accept that Kirby will succumb to it. But when the virus takes effect, no one is safe...Not even Kirby. Please R&R!
1. A New Evil

The skies in Dreamland were dark. They flashed and roared as violent wings flew through the night.  
A fierce wind blew an unforgiving cold throughout the land. The citizens of Dreamland, also known as Cappies, watched in horror as a vicious creature laid waste to their world. Dreamland was being held hostage by a horrific creature known by the name of Malice, the Queen of Evil. She is what is considered to be the root of all evil, the source. She came to bring the end of peace in Dreamland. For reasons unknown, this divine creature sought to destroy the land and everyone who inhabited it. Malice is a flying beast with fiery wings and sharp fangs that drip a mysterious liquid. Her eyes have the power to freeze you in fear. She shows no mercy or no surrender. The Cappies watched in horror as this beast flew and screeched over them. She perched herself atop a volcano and let out a loud long cry. The Cappies trembled in fear. Some fell to their knees, some cried and others held each others hands and took cover. The brave ones were even taking photos and videos of this beast. They all waited for a hero..

"I gotta do something!...What am I gonna do?..." The self-proclaimed King of Dreamland, King Dedede pushed himself through the crowd of Cappies in a rush to find answers.  
"Your majesty what do we do?" One yelled.

"Who is going to save us?!"

He heard nothing but cries for help as he ran though the mob of panicking Cappies. He stopped to catch his breath.  
"Boy, I gotta start gettin' in shape or it's gonna be the death of me."  
Suddenly, Malice screeched again. The sky was a dark red and dark black and grey clouds filled the air. Dedede was knocked to the ground along with many others. There was screaming coming from the crowd. Many began to run to take cover in buildings. Dedede picked himself up and continued on. People were so frantic they were almost trampling each other. Dedede had had enough.

"Stop!" He yelled. Nobody heard him. Crying babies and screaming Cappies drowned out the Kings mighty voice. He grew impatient. He slammed his grand hammer to the ground and with a mighty roar yelled at the top of his lungs,  
"I SAID STOP! WHEN I SAY STOP YOU ALL STOP!" His voice echoed throughout the crowd.  
"Now, pull yourself together right now!" A million frightened eyes focused on him. It was dead silent.  
"Now, I'm telling you right now, runnin' around crying and screaming ain't gonna get you no-where."  
The Cappies watched in fear.  
"But Your Majesty...what are we gonna do?..."  
The King stood tall.  
"I'll tell you what we do! We fight back!"

The crowd erupted in awe.  
"How do you possibly expect us to fight back?" A Cappy man yelled. "Were powerless against this beast!"

"Powerless? Who you callin powerless?" The King raised his fist in anger.  
"B-b-but we simply cannot fight such power!" A Cappy woman said.  
The King ran out of patience. He turned around and faced Malice who was still on top of the volcano.  
"Your Majesty...no-"

"Alright you big bully you listen here! This is it! You and me! Right here! Right now!"  
Malice looked at King Dedede right in the eye. He didn't flinch.  
"What's the matter? Ya scared?" He yelled. Malice was getting angry.

"Your Majesty stop it! You're going to get us all killed!" A Cappy yelled from the crowd.  
The King turned around.  
"I'll tell you what I'm gonna do here...I'm-" Suddenly he was picked up and carried away by Malice. She had flew right up to him and swooped him away with her large talons.

"KING DEDEDE! NO!" A Cappy yelled as she fell to her knees. "SOMEBODY DO SOMETHING!"  
Malice flew above the crowd screeching and screaming sending them all to take cover. The King was panicking in her grasp as the villagers watched in horror. It was the apocalypse.

The King looked down in horror.  
"PUT ME DOWN YOU OVERSIZED MOSQUTIO!" He kicked and screame like a little child. Malice looked down at him and screeched loudly exposing her small yet terrifyingly sharp and hostile fangs. They dripped and curled and the ends. The King's heart began to pound out of control. He began to see flashes of white as if his life were about to end.

"Well it looks like this is the end of Ol' King Dedede..." He muttered. He shut his eyes and braced for impact when suddenly, Malice's grip loosened. He looked up and saw the great Meta Knight taking on the beast.

"Hang on your Majesty!" He yelled. He swung his sword quickly and violently aiming for the face. He successfully swiped her right in the eye. She scowled and hissed and she let go of her grip on King Dedede who began to fall from her talons. He screamed in fear, but not for long as Meta Knight swooped in and saved him from hitting the ground. He caught him by the ankle and carried him to safety. Malice had fled from Meta Knight and she was no where to be seen. Meta Knight dropped the King off below. He quickly picked himself back up and brushed himself off. He was covered in ash, and dust and his robe was slightly torn up and burned. The Cappies all slowly gathered around him in a circle. He felt their eyes looking at him and angrily turned around. They were all looking at him in fear. He scowled.

"What are you all lookin' at?!" Meta Knight walked up to him. The King scoffed. "I didn't need your help!"

Meta Knight nodded at him. "You're welcome your majesty."

The King growled at him in anger. "Yeah, yeah, thanks a lot Meta Knight." He wasn't too thrilled about having to be saved in front of his entire kingdom like that.

"Don't be so humble." Meta Knight added with a giggle.

The Cappies approached the King.

"Are you ok your Majesty?"

"Yeah, yeah I'M FINE! You can all go home! Story's over! The end!" The King turned around and prepared to walk away when the sky became darker once again.

Meta Knight quickly turned around as well. "I wouldn't be so sure about that!"

They looked up and sure enough, Malice was coming back for more. This time, she was angry. Meta Knight pulled out his sword. He pushed everyone back. "Stand back," He then flew up quickly into the sky blades out. Malice came at Meta Knight charging in full force. With great bravery Meta-Knight fought her. She swung her mighty tail at him and he avoided it and countered with a tornado spin. He caught her off-guard by spinning behind her and he was about to attack from the behind. He furiously swiped at her head as she screamed and howled in pain. She turned around and grabbed him by her talons and threw him right into the ground. He collided into the Earth causing a large hole to form. He flew right back up again sword in hand ready to take on more. He approached her head on and pulled out his sword. Malice swung her mighty tail and she knocked his sword right from his hand. It flew to the ground so fast Meta Knight didn't even have a chance to see where it went. He turned around and anxiously scanned the area to see. Malice then struck Meta Knight with her tail and he went spiraling into the ground once again. He crashed into the dirt, face down skidding across the ground until he came to a stop. This time he didn't get back up. He weakly looked up and saw Malice still had her eyes dead set on him. He shook and struggled to get up. His bones were so banged up he couldn't move. Two brave Cappies rushed to his side. His wings were crumpled and cracked and broken, covered in ash and partially burned. Malice howled and began to swiftly fly throughout the air, she was so unpredictable, no one knew what to expect next. King Dedede ran up to Meta Knight.

"Now why'd you have to go and do that for? Now you made her mad! He yelled. She screamed and hissed so loud it shook the World. She was very angry. She flew to the top of the volcano once again and dipped her tail inside. Meta Knight struggled to get up. He looked at King Dedede.

"Your Majesty...We need him." He weakly said. "I...I can't do this myself."

The King scowled.  
"No! Absolutely not! There ain't no way no how!" He angrily yelled

"Your majesty...he's our only hope. To save our world...to save your people...to save you!"

The King bit his lip.  
"We don't need him!" He yelled. "You and I...we got this!" The King picked Meta Knight up. He limped and fell back down immediately. He was badly injured. They both were.

"Your Majesty...Please...I beg you." Meta Knight pleaded.

King Dedede turned around and faced his people. They were weak, scared and all needed a hero. They looked more frightened than they ever have before in their life. They were shaking, they were all huddled together and holding hands. They nodded in agreement with Meta Knight. Even the children were. King Dedede sighed.

"It's not like I got him on speed dial! What do you suppose I do?" He said.

Meta Knight looked up into the sky.  
"If I know him...and I do...He'll hopefully be here any minute." He said. "He'll sense we need his help. It is in his nature, his blood, to help out anyone in need."

The King and Meta Knight looked up into the sky together.

"I sure hope you're right Meta Knight." The King took Meta Knights hand as they watched together.

"Come on, Kirby."


	2. The Hero

Chapter Two: The Hero

The King and Meta Knight stared into the sky holding each other by the hand.

"Meta Knight, I don't wanna die." The King said.

Meta Knight looked over at Malice who seemed ready to strike again at any moment.

"Where are you Kirby?"

The Cappies all looked over at Meta Knight.

"Did he say Kirby?"

"Is Kirby coming to save us?"

They were all hiding within the rubble of the city. Buildings, bushes, trees. The town was near devastation. Meta Knight and King Dedede were behind a tree that was closer to the volcano than the city was. The kids began to jump up and down.

"Kirby! Kirby! Kirby!"

Malice roared loudly sending everyone back into hiding. King Dedede and Meta Knight took cover behind the tree once again and hoped she didn't see them. Malice was about the size of Dyna-Blade. She was like a reptile, but also like a bug. She had a snake like head with large dripping fangs, but small dragon-fly like wings. She was scaly and slender but had bug-like legs. A rather interesting looking creature. King Dedede was hunkered down in fear. They had nothing to do but wait. Wait to die, wait to live...Nobody knew what was next.

...

Thunder boomed and lightning flashed. The sky got darker by the second. The Cappies held each other close. Meta Knight and King Dedede were at a loss of what to do. The King was too scared to fight and Meta Knight was simply not strong enough. Things were seeming to get hopeless.

"Meta Knight" Dedede started, "I just want you know...I always thought your ship was kinda dumb looking."

Meta Knight sighed. Just when everyone was bracing themselves for the end, King Dedede looked up. He squinted his eyes and stood up.

"What is it, your majesty?" Meta Knight said. King Dedede pointed to the sky. Meta Knight looked up. All the Cappies began to look up.

From out of the dark sky they saw a twinkle. The Twinkle shined and shimmered in the dark sky. Then a cloud of smoke started coming down fast from the sky. It approached fast.

"It's a bird!"

"...It's a plane!"

Then King Dedede heard a screech. But it wasn't a screech from Malice. Oh, no. King Dedede knew that screech. It was the screech of the mighty Dragoon.

Flying down fast from the was the great Star Warrior Kirby riding on the Dragoon. He came out of the sky from who knows where and he was moving at an alarmingly fast pace leaving a trail of smoke and steam behind him. He flew down to where the commotion was happening. He flew fast right over the Cappies knocking some of them on to their knees.

"IT'S KIRBY!"

They began to jump and cheer. Kirby circled around and sped towards Malice. He had a serious, determined and focused look on his face. He was ready to fight. He flew straight up to Malice. His Dragoon stopped and he locked eyes with her. She had her new target. But before Malice could act, Kirby sped off once again fast into the distance. Everyone watched.

"That coward" The King yelled. "Where is he going?!"

Kirby was no where to be seen. The Cappies grew quiet. The air grew intense.

Malice stood up and drew out her wings and let out a loud roar. She was ready to attack. King Dedede held Meta Knight so tightly he was almost suffocating him.

Just when things got hopeless once again, Kirby emerged from behind Malice and he had Meta Knights sword in his hand.

Meta Knight looked and jumped with excitement.

"He found my sword! Way to go Kirby! Get her!"

Kirby jumped off the Dragoon and stood before Malice. He looked her in the eye. The air was still. Kirby drew out the sword and held it high. From behind the tree Meta Knight and King Dedede continued to watch. The Cappies also peered from their hiding spots to catch a glimpse of the great Kirby. He jumped high into the air and landed on Malice's back. She deeply roared in anger and lifted up her tail. Kirby then began to swipe viciously at Malice, swatting and swiping her all over. She yelped in pain. She thrust her back throwing Kirby off of her. Kirby tumbled to the ground and the sword drifted across the ground. Kirby picked himself back up and frantically looked for the sword. Malice was flying around in an angry fury. Kirby stood completely still. Meta Knight and King Dedede watched her.

"That no good Kirby! You had one job!" The King squawked.

Kirby looked over at him. When he glanced over he noticed the sword. It has fallen just a few feet behind where they were hiding. They must have not noticed it was there because their eyes were locked on Kirby. Kirby looked up at Malice for a minute and quickly tried to think up a plan. He needed to move fast so he prepared to run toward the sword. Just before he could take one step Malice landed right in front of him. She drew out her wings and exposed her dripping fangs to put fear into Kirby. She dipped her head down low to his level and roared loudly into his face. The roar was so intense it almost blew Kirby away. He planted his feet firmly on the ground and covered his face with his hand. He began to drift backwards slightly. When he opened one eye and caught a glance of King Dedede. Malice swung her tail at Kirby. He quickly jumped and dodged it and the tail swung hitting a nearby tree. She yelped in pain and Kirby quickly ran and took cover behind a large rock. Kirby once again looked over the the King. He began to wave at him. The King looked around panicked. He shook his head in disapproval.

"Kirby stop it! What do you think you're doing!" He said. Kirby turned around and began to make pointing motions behind him. The King looked around confused.

"What do you want from me?!" He said. Meta Knight followed Kirby's pointing gestures and turned around and noticed the sword.

"Your Majesty! The Sword!" He said. They both turned around and saw the sword laying on the ground. Meta Knight hobbled over to it.

"Your Majesty, you need to go give this to Kirby!"

The King's jaw dropped.

"Are you kiddin' me! I ain't going out there! I don't wanna be no pin-cushion for those fangs!"

Kirby was staring at both of them. He was getting ansty with impatience. He knew he didn't have much time left.

The King took the sword. "Here, I got an idea!" He then took the sword and threw it towards Kirby. The sword flew through the air but unfortunately it hit a tree and fell back to the ground once again. Kirby sighed and shook his head. King Dedede shrugged at Kirby who was looking at him in anger.

"Sorry!" He yelled.

Malice turned around and looked at King Dedede. He went as pale as a ghost. He froze and looked nervously at Meta Knight.

"You think she saw me?..."

Malice flew to King Dedede and landed in front of him.

"Yeah, I think she saw you." Meta Knight said.

She bared her fangs at him. The King fell to his knees.

"Please take whatever you want! I wanna live!" He pleaded.

Kirby watching from afar took this as the perfect opportunity to retrieve the sword. He ran and grabbed it while Malice was distracted. Malice drew in closer and closer to King Dedede's face. She exposed her fangs and opened her mouth wide and let out a hiss.

"Your Majesty move! She's going to bite you!"

"Bite me?" He looked up and saw her fangs. They were long, slender and thin. They had a weird liquid just dripping from them like a running faucet.

Meta Knight shoved King Dedede out of the way and Malice collided into the ground in a failed attempt to bite him.

"Your Majesty! Get out of here it's not safe!" The King looked over at Meta Knight. His mask was cracked, his cape was tattered and burned but he was still so heroic. He slowly got up and ran faster than he had ever ran before. He noticed Kirby was gone. He went and hid behind the rock Kirby was previously hiding behind. He panted in exhaustion and looked behind him. Meta Knight was alone. Malice was more angry than she had ever been. Meta Knight stood his ground. The King sighed.

"Oh, Meta Knight. Get out of there..." He watched as Malice approached Meta Knight. He bravely stood tall and held his head high.

"HIIIIIYYYYAAH!" Kirby emerged from behind her holding the sword up high. Meta Knight looked up in shock.

"Kirby!"

He dived down and stabbed Malice right in the neck with the blade. She hissed and thrashed in pain. Kirby ran and grabbed Meta Knight and tossed him over to where King Dedede was. He nodded at him.

"Go get em Kirby!" Meta Knight said.

With a smile, Kirby ran back to the monster as she was stomping about. The Cappies began to run away in fear. The buildings began to crumble and the ground was shaking. He eyed her tail, her prime weapon. While she was distracted he ran behind her and to everyone's surprise he completely severed her tail clean off her body. Meta Knight and King Dedede watched in awe. Malice fell to the ground. Blood was leaking out of her body all over the ground. Kirby stepped in it.

"Ew!" He ran and wiped his foot off in the grass. He looked over at her. She was unable to get up. He jumped and landed on her head. He stabbed her right thru the skull. King Dedede covered his eyes.

Kirby leaped and stood before Malice looking her in the eye. She was weak, she was panting. She laid on the ground with her arms drawn out in front of her. She was powerless it seemed. Kirby looked deep into his eyes. She looked at him as if she were asking for mercy. Kirby walked up to her face. She tried to get up but the beating she had just taken was too much for her. With one last long, drawn out sigh Malice's life ended. With the stabbing through her skull and removal of her tail, she was gone. Kirby walked up to her and poked her face. There was no reaction or movement. She was dead.

Kirby turned around and saw the dozens of Cappies looking at him.

"Is...is it safe to come out?" One said.

Meta Knight and King Dedede slowly emerged from behind the rock. Kirby smiled and ran towards them. He ran up to Meta Knight and hugged him with joy.

He laughed.

"Good job Kirby! You saved us all!" He said.

All the Cappies cheered and ran forward to Kirby. They lifted him up and threw him in the air in celebration.

"HIP, HIP, HOORAY!" They chanted. King Dedede watched in annoyment and scoffed.

"Well, I coulda done that too if I had Meta Knight's stupid sword." He turned around and began to walk away. Kirby glanced over at him from up top the crowd. He jumped down and hurried up to catch up with him. King Dedede turned around.

"Well, know what do you want you little twerp?" He said. Kirby frowned.

"You almost got me killed!" He yelled. Kirby backed away slowly. Meta Knight approached him.

"Your Majesty, he saved your life. Don't you think you should thank him?"

Kirby smiled at the King. He had large, hopeful eyes. They had a twinkle in them that no one else had. There was just something about Kirby's smile that made you happy inside. The King rolled his eyes.

"Oh, fine! Thanks Kirby..." Before the King could turn around to walk away again Kirby ran up to him and hugged him tightly. He sent him to the ground. Kirby laughed and smiled as he held the King close.

"Get off me you little nightmare!" He yelled. Meta Knight laughed.

"Come, on your Majesty. You know you can't hate Kirby forever. He's a hero."

"Yeah, yeah I know! We've all played the games!" King Dedede barked. The Cappies all cheered and rejoiced for Kirby.

Kirby smiled and soaked in all the love and appreciation. He then quickly ran up close to Malice's body and picked up Meta Knights sword. He took it back to Meta Knight.

"Thank you, Kirby." He nodded.

It was truly a scene of happiness in Dreamland. What was seemingly about to be the end of their days was now a time of joy, and bliss. Everyone was smiling laughing, and enjoying being able to be out of hiding.

"It's so great to have a hero like Kirby around!" One of the Cappies said. The King scoffed.

"Alright everyone! Time to go home! We got some re-building to do!" He yelled.

Meta Knight shook Kirby's hand

"Well, Kirby thank you once again for saving us. We couldn't have done it without you."

Kirby blushed.

"You should stay for a while!" He added.

"Nah, Kirby don't need us for nothing!" The King yelled.  
"Go, on Kirby go take your star dragon whatever you call it and go on somewhere and do something! You got bigger and better things to do than stick around here." The King said.

"Your Majesty!" Meta Knight shook his head.

"Well what he supposed to do here!" King Dedede said.

Kirby looked around and saw Malice. He walked up a little closer to her. There was an apple on the ground. He smiled and ran up to pick it up.

Meta Knight laughed.

"I guess all that fighting must have made him hungry!"

Kirby ate the apple that was on the ground. He smiled and rubbed his tummy.

The King looked over at him. Something didn't feel right. He had a bad feeling in his gut.

"Kirby, why don't you get away from her..." He said.

Kirby looked at him. Suddently Malice blinked her eye. Kirby was still standing there.

The King's blood went cold.

"KIRBY WATCH OUT!" He yelled. All the Cappies turned around at Kirby.

"Huh?" Kirby turned around..lMalice wasn't finished. Kirby screamed and turned back around in an attempt to run away. Before he could take off, Malice grabbed Kirby by the feet with her talons. He fell to the ground. He tried to grab anything he could and dug his hands into the ground.

Meta Knight grabbed his sword and ran up to her. Malice drug Kirby by his feet to her face. She then exposed her fangs and sank her teeth into Kirby's face.

Meta Knight stopped and dropped his sword. The King went pale.

..."No!" He yelled. The Cappies watched in horror.

Malice's fangs were deep into Kirby's skin. He was paralyzed in fear. The color began to drain from his body. His eyes lost the glow to them and finally he was released from her fangs and he fell to the ground. He had two small black holes from the bite. They were glowing. Kirby was as white as snow. His eyes closed and he fell face down into the ground. Meta Knight charged to Malice and to ensure she was gone for good with the last bit of strength he could recover he cut her head right off her body. Knight watched her closely to make sure she was dead for real. The decapitated monster was officially dead. The King ran up to Kirby. The Cappies ran up to see the commotion.

"Stay back! Give him some air!" Meta Knight prevented them from getting any closer.

King Dedede looked incredibly flustered. He kneeled beside him and put his hand on Kirby.

"Kirby?...Kirby!" He shook him and Kirby did not wake up. He looked at Meta Knight nervously.

"Wake up Kirby! Snap out of it!" He shook him and Kirby was as lifeless as Malice it seemed. King Dedede observed the bite marks. They were glowing black puntures right by his eyes. They were small, but deep. They were throbbing.

"Meta Knight..." He started. "That thing...it bit Kirby."

Meta Knight kneeled beside Kirby.

"I know...I saw...we all saw."

King Dedede turned around and saw the dozens of Cappies who were witnessing what was going on here.

He looked at Kirby once again. He was unconscious and his skin was very pale and he was very cold to the touch.

"He ain't dead is he?" The King yelped. The Cappies gasped. Meta Knight smacked him.

"Your Majesty! Don't scare them!" Meta Knight held his face close to Kirbys 'heart'.

"Kirby isn't dead."

The King sighed in relief.

"Yet."

"What?"

Meta Knight stood up.

"Your Majesty, we need to get him looked at right away. This is very serious. Who knows what kind of venom she infected him with. He needs a doctor right away before it's too late. He doesn't look too good..."

The King nodded. He took off his robe and wrapped it around Kirby and picked him up. He turned him around hiding his face so nobody would see it.

They turned and faced the ground. The Cappies looked at him with sad eyes. One small child stepped forward.

"...Is Kirby going to be okay?" She said.

The King and Meta Knight exchanged glances. Kirby was being held tightly in Dedede's arms. With no words, Meta Knight and King Dedede charged off into the crowd, making their way to the city hoping the hospital would still be there. The Cappies watched as they ran off with Kirby.

Meta Knight looked at King Dedede.

"Your Majesty...You seem very worried." He said.

The King looked at him. He had an intense look in his eyes. He kept looking forward with no response and continued on.

From the distance Meta Knight spotted the Dreamland hospital.

"There it is your Majesty! Let's hurry!"

With no time to lose, and a hero in jeopardy the duo of Meta Knight and King Dedede rushed to the hospital in hopes to save Kirby. The sky began to clear out and the sun began to shine. They stopped for a brief moment to catch their breath.

Meta Knight looked at King Dedede.

"How does he look?" He said.

The King uncovered Kirby's face. The bite marks had faded with dried up liquid around the edges. Kirby was still out cold.

"He don't look to good...Not good at all."

"Then we need to keep moving!"

The King nodded and they carried on.

The King had a million thoughts going through his head.

Was he worried about Kirby? Was he scared for him?

All he knew was that they weren't losing Kirby.

King Dedede was prepared to do anything and everything in his power to save Kirby from whatever was going to happen to him.

Why?

King Dedede himself didn't even know.


	3. The Evirus

Chapter 3: The Evirus

King Dedede nervously paced around the waiting room at the Dreamland hospital. It was so far from the commotion it was still intact, and with the recent invasion, the place was fully staffed. Kirby was being looked at by a team of doctors. Meta Knight sat in a chair, still hurting himself but more worried about Kirby than his own injuries. Meta Knight looked at the King who seemed restless. Dedede scowled at him.

"What re you lookin' at?!" He squawked.

"You just seem awfully worried...I didn't know you cared so much about Kirby your Majesty."

The King stopped in his steps.

"Well...I uh.." He was tongue tied. Inside he felt nervous...worried and scared.

But why? The Great Kirby had finally seemingly been taken down.

Why did he feel so empty inside?

"Kirby's gonna be fine! He's gonna make it! If anyone's gonna take down that pink little abomination it's gonna be me!" He yelled.

Meta Knight sighed. They had been waiting for an hour almost. The King was still pacing like a worried parent.

"Why don't you sit down? You look tired."

The King looked at Meta Knight with disgust.

"Don't tell me what to do you little-"

The waiting room doors opened. The Dreamland doctor came into the room. King Dedede ran up to him.

"Give it to me straight doc! Is Kirby gonna be okay? He's gonna be fine right?"

The doctor looked at both of them. He had a somber look on his face. He put his head down.

"Follow me, please." He turned around and Meta Knight and the King followed him down a long corridor to a heavily guarded room. The Kings heart raced inside his chest. Meta Knight observed around him. It was all white and everyone looked really, really sad. He sighed. The approached a door.

"Now," The doctor started. "What your about to see isn't very pretty."

The King and Meta Knight exchanged worried glances.

"Come on in.."The doctor opened the door and what The King and Meta Knight saw almost made them sick.

Little Kirby was laying in a hospital bed hooked up to so many wires, and machines he hardly looked like Kirby. He was a very, very pale pink but it looked like his color was restoring. He had a large bandage wrapped around his head from where he was bitten. He almost looked dead.

The King ran up to him and observed him.

"Don't get too close! He could e contagious!" The doctor said.

"Contagious?" Meta Knight looked at the doctor. "What do you mean contagious?"

The doctor removed his hat. King Dedede walked up to him.

"Is Kirby gonna die?" He blurted out.

The doctor sighed. There was a silence between the three of them. The only sound they could hear was the beeping from the machines Kirby was hooked up too.

"Your Majesty...Sir Meta Knight...Kirby was bitten by Malice, as you know. Malice...she was a special kind of monster."

"What do you mean special?" The King questioned.

"You see...when Malice bit Kirby...Her fangs injected a venom into Kirby's bloodstream...the venom instantly spread through his body...very fast since he's such a small little guy. It took no time at all infiltrating his system. He's very horribly infected. It'll-"

"WELL AS YOUR KING I ORDER YOU TO DO WHATEVER MEANS NECESSARY TO GET THAT VENOM OUT OF HIM!" The King roared.

"Your Majesty...I wish I could. But...we ran some extensive tests. And the results were not good."

The King felt his stomache turn. He was in disbelief to what he was hearing. Meta Knight looked worried and he kept looking back at poor Kirby.

"Kirby is infected with a virus that we are calling the Evil Virus, aka Evirus. Now, what this virus is gonna do...It's going to cause Kirby to go through bouts of violent and hostile rampages."

"What do you mean by that!" Meta Knight exclaimed.

"...It means at unpredicted times...Kirby will..well he'll 'snap' if you will."

"Snap?..."

"Kirby will become evil. He will destroy. He will hurt...He will kill. And he will unsnap...and have absolutely no memory of what he did."

The King's jaw dropped.

"How long will that last for?" He asked.

The doctor sighed once again.

"This is the part of my job that I hate..." he said.

The King looked at the doctors face. His heart was pounding out of control.

"Your Majesty...each day...Kirby will progressively lose control of himself to this virus. It will begin to eat him away. It will consume his mind, his body and his soul. And the effects...are irreversible."

The King went pale. Meta Knight shook his head in disbelief.

"This isn't real! This can't be happening!" The King cried. He felt himself tearing up. He walked up to Kirby. Underneath all the wires, he looked so peaceful. As if he were sleeping. His soft breathing was almost calming to the King. He set his hand on Kirby's hand. He twitched.

"Your majesty, I'm sorry."

"What are we gonna do doc?"

"Kirby has incredible powers...He has enormous strength. When he snaps, he will have the capabilities to destroy this planet. Were all in extreme danger. Kirby is now more of a threat than Malice ever was."

The King couldn't believe what he was hearing. He was fighting the urge to pull out his hammer and start swinging. He looked at the doctor with sad eyes. His voice was crackling as he tried to speak.

"What are you saying...?"

Meta Knight was on the verge of tears.

"Your Majesty...in 3 days this virus will completely take control of Kirby. On sunset of the third day Kirby will snap. And...he will not snap back."

The king almost collapsed.

"What?!"

"The Kirby we know and love..will be no more. He will die and his body will be nothing more than a host to the virus. It is an absolute certainty."

The King fell to his knees. Meta Knight ran to him and put his hands on his shoulder.

"Pull yourself together your Majesty..." He sniffled as he talked. "Doctor..is there anything...anything at all we can do?.."

The doctor shook his head.

"I'm sorry. There is no cure.

The King stood up. He was filled with rage and he was shaking in anger.

"...So you're trying to tell me...that our hero...the guy who has saved our lives countless of times...Kirby...The one who stands up for peace and happiness...He's going to turn evil forever?"

"I'm afraid so.."

"What...what do we do? What...where will we go..What...what about Kirby, he's just...does he know?..."

"Well I figured Meta Knight could...well you know."

Meta Knight stood up.

"I could what?.."

"Well...if you got him before he snapped...maybe while he was sleeping..."

The King slammed his hammer on the ground.

"ENOUGH!" The room shook and his voice roared thoughout the room.

"You are out of your mind if you think that Kirby is going to become evil! You are just out of your mind you hear me?! And for even suggesting that..."

He looked at Meta Knight who was just shaking his head in discomposure.

The king walked up to Kirby and ripped of all the wires he was hooked up too. The machines began to flat line.

"Your Majesty please stop!" The doctor said.

King Dedede held Kirby's limp body in his arms. He held him tightly.

"Let's go Meta Knight." He said as he walked towards the door.

"Is this a good idea Your Majesty?" Meta Knight said.

"I said let's go Meta Knight!" He yelled. The doctor ran up and blocked the door.

"Please stop! You don't know what you're getting yourself into! He will kill you your Majesty!"

"YOU'RE FIRED!" The King shoved him onto the floor.

"Please! He's a danger to us all!"

The King turned around and walked up to the doctor.

With a stern look he balled up his mighty fist and punched the doctor in the face sending him back to the ground once again.

With Kirby in his arms the King stormed out of the room and slammed the door behind him. The doctor picked himself up rubbing his face. He watched as they took Kirby away. He sighed.

"We are all doomed."


	4. It Begins

Chapter 4: It Begins

The King and Meta Knight returned to Kirby's small home near Dreamland. He was still unconscious.

"Do you think maybe we should have left him at the hospital your majesty?..." Meta Knight asked.

The King laid Kirby into his bed.

"What? And leave him there with that psycho that want's us to kill him?"

Meta Knight shrugged.

"Your Majesty...you need to listen to reason. He's a doctor...He knows that he's talking about. I love Kirby, really do. He's a very special person who means a lot to me but this sounds very serious, and I don't think anyone of us are prepared to deal with it."

"You're all out of your minds! Look at him! He's harmless!"

The King pointed to Kirby who was laying innocently in his bed.

"Kirby is everything that is good in this world! There is nothing to worry about."

"How can you be sure?"

"Because I know Kirby! He wouldn't hurt anyone that did no harm to him! No amount of 'eviiiil' is gonna change that! He's too good of a soul."

"But your Majesty-"

"I'll tell ya again, since your mask is on a little too tight you must have not heard me. Kirby is gonna wake up any minute now and he is gonna be totally and completely fine!"

PLOP!

A loud thud interrupted them. They looked over at the bed and Kirby was gone, the blanket was on the floor.

"He's gone!" Meta Knight exclaimed as he eyed the room nervously.

The King chuckled sheepishly.

"Come now...he probably went to go get him a glass of water..."

They both looked around the room but there was no sign of Kirby.

"This is bad! This is really bad!" Meta Knight whispered.

"Hush now, there ain't nothin' to be worried about it's just-" He turned around

"KIRBY!"

Indeed, Kirby was standing right before the king. He had a dazed, vacant look in his eyes. The bite marks on his head were glowing. The King picked Kirby up and hugged him.

"Kirby! You're awake! I'm so happy to see ya!"

Meta Knight didn't feel right about this. Kirby didn't look like himself. He had a look in his eye that Meta Knight didn't trust. The King put Kirby down. Meta Knight began to back away slowly.

"Your Majesty..." he started

"Kirby!" The King barked "Tell Meta Knight here, to stop worryin' so much! You're just the same old Kirby right!"

Kirby made eye contact with the King. He stepped a little closer to him. Kirby's eye was twitching. The King looked closer. Kirby was not smiling. He had a very pained look to his face.

"Kirby...you ok little guy?..." King Dedede put his hand on Kirby's shoulder. He heard a low grumble and Kirby gave him a horrifying glare.

"Come on, Kirby...Are you okay?" He asked once again. Kirby then stepped a little closer to King Dedede and gave him a smirk.

The King smiled and looked at Meta Knight.

"See, I told ya he was-"

Kirby abruptly grabbed King Dedede by his neck and violently thrusted him around. The King panicked in fear. Kirby grasped his small hands around his neck and keep squeezing and squeezing. He was looking at the King right in eye and the King looked at him back. Kirby's eyes were red and he was laughing. But it wasn't Kirby's laugh. The King was choking and gasping for air. He tried to get Kirby's hands off him but he wasn't strong enough. Meta Knight sprung into action. He ran behind Kirby to attack but Kirby immediately grabbed the King harder and threw him against Meta Knight smashing him into a wall. Kirby then slowly began to back Dedede up into a corner. His grasp growing stronger and stronger. He fell to his knees. He turned white and he began to feel weak. Kirby smiled and laughed as he choked King Dedede to death. The King struggled to speak.

"Kirby...please!...It's me!" The King gasped. He scratched and smacked at Kirby's hand but he was not legging go for anything. Kirby was wanting to watch the King die. Meta Knight picked himself back up and ran to Kirby.

"KIRBY WHAT ARE YOU DOING! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU!"

Kirby shot a glance at Meta Knight and then he realized this was it. This is what the doctor had warned them about. This isn't their Kirby. This is the virus making Kirby do these things while the real Kirby inside was no where to be found. Meta Knight flipped his sword around to the dull side and with all the strength he had he smashed Kirby upside the head with it. Kirby fell to the ground and the King stood up and fled to the other side of the room. The color returned to his face and he desperately struggled to catch his breath. He rubbed his neck and his eyes were watering from the pain. Meta Knight ditched Kirby who was knocked out and rushed to the Kings side.

"Your Majesty, are you alright?"

The King brushed himself off.

"Yeah, I'm fine! Boy, that Kirby's got one strong grip!" He fixed his robe and stood up acting like none of that even happened.

"Kirby...Kirby just tried to kill you." Meta Knight said. "It's already starting..."

"What's already starting?"

"The Evirus..."

"Oh, come now! He's not that tough! I was just about to finish him off before you bonked the poor guy!"

"This is exactly what we were trying to tell you sir! He is infected! What part of that do you not understand?! This was only the beginning! He's gonna get stronger...The outbursts will become more frequent...He's already stronger than both of us combined! Do you know how many peoples lives are in danger here?"

"PFFT! Nobody's in any danger! Sure, Kirby might have a few little episodes, but it will wear off here soon and Kirby will be back to his normal old self, finding people's ship parts, racing with me, singing terribly..."

"Your Majesty, as King it is your responsibility to do something about Kirby...before he kills us all.."

"What am I supposed to do...Arrest Kirby?"

"Perhaps...put him in temporary exile?"

"Kirby just needs to sleep it off! He'll be back to normal by tomorrow morning!"

**"**YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND! KIRBY IS NOT KIRBY ANYMORE! HE'S GONE! HES-"

King Dedede and Meta Knight looked over on the other side of the room and saw Kirby standing up looking right at them. His eyes were big and blue. He was a very healthy shade of pink and his bite marks were dim. Meta Knight and The King were dead silent. Kirby walked up to them. Meta Knight nudged the King.

"Hey...Kirby..."The King started. "How ya feelin?"

Kirby rubbed his head were Meta Knight hit him.

"Does your head hurt?"

Kirby nodded. Kirby then saw a butterfly flying outside his window and ran up to watch. He was smiling and laughing. Meta Knight pulled the King close to him.

"He doesn't remember anything!" He whispered. They observed him. He was innocently walking around the room like nothing even happened. He seemed quite content.

"This is it, your Majesty. Step one: He snapped. Step two: He tried to kill you. Step three: He doesn't remember a thing."

"Meta Knight how many times do I gotta tell you he's gonna be fine! He'll snap maybe one or two more times and it will wear off I'm tellin ya! This is Kirby were talking about!"

"What are you gonna do when he snaps again? What if he's in the city and he kills one of the Cappies?"

The King looked at Kirby. He was sitting on a pillow playing with some little sticks on the ground. He looked like himself again. It was so hard to believe that he just did what he did. The King was in pure denial of the whole situation.

"That's not gonna happen!" The King roared.

"Wake up, your Majesty! You need to stop being so dense!"

Meta Knight felt a tugging on his cape. He turned around and Kirby was standing behind him with a worried look on his face.

"...What's wrong Kirby?"

He took Meta Knight's hand and ran towards a small mirror Kirby had on the ground. Kirby picked it up and looked at his reflection. With a sad expression he looed at Meta Knight and rubbed the two bite marks on his face.

"Kirby..." Meta Knight sighed and looked at King Dedede.

Kirby wanted to know where these bite marks came from. Meta Knight didn't know what to say. King Dedede definitely didn't know what to say.

Kirby walked up to the King and pointed at his bite marks. He was clearly wanting answer.s

_[I don't know what to tell him! How do I explain something like this to poor little Kirby?]_

The King kneeled down beside Kirby.

"Hey Kirby, why don't you come stay with me at the Castle for a few days. We'll play games, have fun and there's a lot of food! We can do some talking later okay?"

Kirby smiled and jumped for joy. He hugged the King and then ran to his bed and started gathering his things.

The King approached Meta Knight.

"What..am I supposed to tell him? He can't comprehend something like that..."

"I know, your Majesty...I know."

"He doesn't even remember what he did to me! Well...what the Evirus did to me...I just..I can't tell him! I just won't tell him!"

"What? You can't keep Kirby in the dark about something like this! It's not fair!"

"Kirby doesn't need to know because by the time he would know it's all going to be over!"

"YOUR MAJESTY THERE IS NO CURE! KIRBY IS NOT GOING OVERCOME THIS!"

The King shook his head in disgust.

"Let me ask you something, Meta Knight. When Malice almost killed you...who saved your life?"

Meta Knight was silent.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. How dare you...How dare you lose faith in the one person who would drop anything to save you. You make me sick."

King Dedede walked to the door.

"Come on Kirby! Let's go eat." He said.

"Poyoo!" Kirby ran up to him but before he left he walked up to Meta Knight.

"Kirby..." He said.

Kirby smiled and gave Meta Knight a hug. The hug was very soft and very warm. It made him smile.

"Kirby...you take care of yourself okay?"

"Poyo!" Kirby smiled and rushed to the King and jumped on his shoulders.

The King turned around and him and Meta Knight met eyes.

"Please be careful, Your Majesty." he said.

With no response the King slammed the door behind him and he and Kirby made their way to the Castle.

As the King walked he gave Kirby a piggyback ride on his shoulders. He enjoyed having his company. As the King walked forward he felt a tear come out of this eye.

Maybe inside he knew what was going to happen to Kirby. But yet he still believed with everything he had in him, that there was a way to save him.

And King Dedede was gonna find that way.


	5. The Massacre

**...Authors Note: Hey guys! I just wanna say thanks so much for liking my story! I can't believe how many hits it's gotten! And I also wanna apologize in advance for some of the sloppiness/bad grammar/spelling mistakes. I usually write my stories in Movie Script format and to capture the raw emotion of the characters in this story I chose to do it in a traditional story narration and English was not my best subject! But please keep the reviews coming I love hearing from you... it keeps me motivated to do more! Thank you guys, and now I present to you, Kirby, Meta-Knight and King Dedede in...The Twinkle...**

* * *

Chapter 5: The Massacre

The King and Kirby arrived at Castle Dedede. Kirby was riding on the King's shoulders smiling away. The gated doors were opened by his loyal Waddle Dee servants. They were all scurrying around doing various tasks and chores for his royal highness. The Waddle Dees all looked at the King and Kirby as they walked down the front lawn into the Castle. They looked confused. Some hid behind bushes and trees. Kirby frowned.

"Don't you worry about them Waddle Dee's Kirby! They're just a bunch of cry-babies. COME ON GET BACK TO WORK!" The King squawked at them.

In a flurry they all began to go back to their duties. The King entered the Castle and was greeted by Waddle Doo, the leader of the Waddle Dees.

"Good afternoon Your Majesty! Good afternoon Kirby...KIRBY?!" He yelled.

The King gave him a confused look.

"What is Kirby doing here? Wasn't he bi-"

The King smacked him and shook his head.

"Shhhhhhh." He whispered.

"But sire.."

"But what!"

"It's dangerous to have him here! I've heard some unsettling things about him.."

"The only unsettling thing around here is you! Now get out of my way!" The King stomped away in an angry rage.

Waddle Doo watched as they headed up to the King's chamber.

"I don't get paid enough for this..."

The King opened his chamber door to reveal his room. It was very large, with a large bed and huge windows with a balcony that overlooked Cappy Town.

"Alright Kirby, here's our stop! Make yourself at home" Kirby jumped off the Kings shoulders and ran around the room with delight. He observed all the neat little things he had lying around. He then spotted the bed.

"Poyooo!" He ran to the bed and began to jump up and down.

"HEY! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING GET OFF MY BED YOU LITTLE..."

Kirby immediately stopped jumping and his eyes filled with tears. The King sighed.

"Kirby...come here why don't ya.." The King walked over to his dresser. He pulled out a drawer and filled with a pillow and blanket.

"Kirby, this is where you're gonna sleep tonight okay?" He said.

Kirby smiled and jumped into the bed the king had made for him. He gave the King a very loving look.

"You like it Kirby?" He asked as he walked towards the chamber door.

"Mhmmm!"

"Good! Cause you ain't sleepin' in my bed that's for sure!" He reached for the doorknob. "You hungry Kirby?"

The King looked over at Kirby and he was absolutely passed out in the bed that he had made for him.

"Hey!" He roared.

Kirby shot up and fell to the floor in shock. He already had drool on his face.

"You need to get some food in your belly boy! It's not good for ya to go to bed hungry!"

"Pooooyo!" Kirby excitedly jumped up and down and ran to the Kings side.

"I'll have my Waddle Dees fix us up something nice. Whattya say?"

"Poyo!"

"Then let's go!" He opened the door and they both headed down the dining hall.

* * *

The table was set and dinner was ready to be served. The King sat at the edge as usual. He chuckled at Kirby who was sitting adjacent to him.

"Now, you're probably wonderin' why I got you strapped into your seat there..."

Kirby was restrained in his seat by thick chains and rope. He didn't look very happy. The King made special precautions for the unfortunate event of Kirby snapping.

"It's a funny story actually uh..." He looked up and all the Waddle Dees were huddled together at the other end of the table shaking in fear. Waddle Doo was sitting next the King.

"You see...That chair you're sittin' in...It's kinda wobbly. And you've been going though some tough times lately that the last thing I wanna see happen is for you to fall out of your chair and bonk your head while you're trying to enjoy a tasty dinner! You understand?" He smiled.

Kirby slowly shook his head. He looked at the Waddle Dees who were cowering in fear.

"Poyo?..."

The King scowled.

"Hey! Listen up you cowards! Hurry up so you can back to work! I don't pay you sit around and act like a bunch of babies!"

"Sire, you don't pay us at all." Waddle Doo chimed in.

The King grimaced at him and slammed his fork down.

"AND YOU AIN'T NEVER GONNA GET PAID NEITHER UNLESS YOU KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!"

"Yes, sire." Waddle Doo continued to eat.

Dinner was going seemingly well. The Waddle Dees quickly finished and fled the scene as soon as possible and Waddle Doo left as well. It was just Kirby and the King. Kirby was struggling to reach the table through the straps. He grew frustrated and finally just inhaled all the food into his mouth.

The King, finished with his supper rubbed his belly with satisfaction.

"Now, that's what I call a gooooood meal, aye Kirby?" He chortled.

Kirby smirked as he wiggled around in his chair. No sign of snapping from him yet. Maybe the King was right and it was just a one time thing...

The King stood up.

"Here let me help ya out there." He released Kirby from the chained up chair. Kirby jumped down and let out a burp.

"Feel better?"

"Poyo!"

The King looked at the time. It was actually pretty late. He yawned and stretched out his arms.

"Well, I'm about ready to hit the hay. It's been one heck of a day, huh Kirby?"

He nodded and smiled with a yawn.

The King and Kirby left their dinner mess on the table for the Waddle Dees to pick up. With the sun going down on the first day, Kirby and the King headed down the corridor and up the stairs into the King's chamber.

Kirby jumped into his bed and curled up into the blankets. The King went into his private washroom and changed into his pajamas. He felt wore out. His bones hurt, his legs hurt. He kept having horrific images replay in his head and hated that he kept remembering it was all real. Malice bit Kirby. Kirby was becoming evil. He felt everyone was turning on him and he didn't feel like Kirby deserved it. After Kirby saved Dedede from Sectonia they had built up a strange relationship. Almost a frenemy if you will. Sure, Kirby was annoying and overwhelming to the King sometimes. He was like a small child with too much energy and Dedede was the older brother that had to babysit him all the time. Even though the King had a front to him that perceived him as a harsh, brash and cruel dictator, inside he was just a sad, lonely guy. He admired Kirby for so many reasons. His happiness, his braveness. Kirby had something that no one else had. He had...a twinkle. A twinkle in his eye that shined like a bright, beautiful sun on a cloudy day. When things got bad and you saw that twinkle you had a feeling inside that maybe...just maybe everything was going to be okay. Inside, the King worried a little about Kirby's fate. Sure, the doctors said this, and Meta Knight said that...but Kirby is stronger than they know. Sure, he may be capable of destroying a planet, but he is also capable to fight his horrible virus. Maybe it was hope, maybe it was denial. But King Dedede wasn't going to give up on Kirby like everyone else seemingly already has. He walked up to his bed and stretched out his huge arms.

"Now, Kirby you stay in that there bed and don't even think about getting up and going anywhere tonight you understand me?"

Kirby pouted. The King crawled into his bed and prepared to turn out the light. Kirby jumped out of his bed and ran over and crawled into the bed with King Dedede. He huddled into the blankets and smiled at him.

"No no no no! You ain't sleepin' here!" The King shoved Kirby aside. Kirby gave him the puppy dog eyes.

"Now don't be lookin' at me like that! I made you a bed now go use it!" The King crossed his arms in disapproval. With a sigh Kirby slowly got off the bed and sulked back to his dresser box bed. He crawled into it and sighed very loudly. The King went to turn off the light next to his bed when he looked at Kirby once more. He was laying with his eyes shut and had a huge frown on his face. He looked very unhappy. King Dedede didn't like that. He groaned and scooted over.

"Alright, Kirby. Come on."

"POYO POYO POYO!" Kirby sprung out of the drawer bed and hopped right next to King Dedede.

He huddled up next to him and smiled.

"Now this is one time thing Kirby! Ya hear me one time!"

"Mhmmmm"

The King smiled back at him. Kirby laid next to the King and shut his eyes.

"Ya know Kirby? You're all right. I don't care what anyone says."

He looked over at Kirby was already sleeping peacefully."

The King laughed quietly.

"Goodnight, Kirby." He turned off the light and laid his head down on the pillow.

* * *

_The next morning..._

King Dedede was abruptly awoken by loud knocking on his door. He shot up out of his bed. Kirby was gone.

"YOUR MAJESTY OPEN UP PLEASE! IT IS A TRAGEDY AN ABSOLUTE TRAGEDY!" Waddle Doo's voice yelled from behind the chamber doors.

The King looked around the room nervously. Things were scattered around the room, broken and shattered. The King slept through it all. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomache.

"...Kirby?..."

Waddle Doo kicked the door open and fell to the floor. He was shaking and he was covered in blood.

The King ran to him.

"Waddle Doo! What happened?"

"THEY'RE GONE! THEY'RE ALL GONE!"

"What?"

"I COULDN'T STOP HIM AND NOW THEY'RE ALL GONE!"

"Waddle Doo, who? What's going on?"

The sun was just beginning to rise. It was day 2 for Kirby.

"Waddle Doo I order to tell me what is going on right now!"

Just then Meta Knight arrived into the room. The King, still in his pajamas nervously covered himself up.

"Meta Knight! What are you doing here? Ain't you ever heard of knocking!"

"Waddle Doo, I came as soon as I heard...Are you alright?" Meta Knight kneeled beside the trembling Waddle Doo.

"I...I..." His voice was cracking. "I couldn't save them."

"Save who?" The King asked.

"Your Majesty..." Meta Knight stood up. "Follow me."

The King followed Meta Knight down the corridor and down the stairs. They approached a door and Meta Knight stopped.

"I'm warning you...what you're about to see will upset you greatly. And for that..I apologize."

The King eyed Meta Knight. His heart was racing. He walked up to the door and sighed.

"Once again, your Majesty...I am truly, truly sorry."

With that, Meta Knight slowly opened the door.

The King's Jaw dropped. He fell to his knees. Tears began to pour out of his eyes like a waterfall.

Scattered...All over the room were his Waddle Dee servants. They were all dead. Their bodies just piled all over the place like something out of a horror movie. They had all been slaughtered. There were dozens upon dozens and they were covered in blood. The King looked around the room in terror. All the Waddle Dees...gone. His loyal servants who had been there since the beginning. They were all gone. There were broken dishes and pieces of furniture all over the place. It was clear they had tried to put up a fight. The King was bawling his eyes out. Meta Knight tried to comfort him.

"I am sorry Your Majesty...Waddle Doo tried to save him...but he wasn't strong enough."

"Who did this..." The King grumbled.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"WHO DID THIS!" His voice boomed.

He slammed his fists into the ground as he sobbed.

"All my Waddle Dees! I can't believe this!" He yelled.

Meta Knight rubbed the Kings back. He slapped his hand.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME!" He screamed.

"Your Majesty..."

"I wanna know who did this and I wanna know NOW."

"Poyo?" A small voice echoed.

The King and Meta Knight looked up. Kirby was standing on the other side of the room. He was covered in blood.

The King stood up angrily.

"IT WAS YOU!" He yelled.

Kirby looked innocently at the King. His hands were soaked in blood and it was splattered all over his face. He looked at all the dead Waddle Dees around the room. He began to cry.

"KIRBY WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!" King Dedede cried.

Kirby was sobbing and he went to rub his tears and smeared more blood all over his face. He looked at his hands and screamed.

"KIRBY! BY ORDER OF THE KING YOU ARE UNDER ARREST!" The King stormed up to Kirby who began to cringe in fear. He backed away as the King cornered him.

"META KNIGHT GRAB HIM!" He yelled.

"But sir-"

"I SAID GRAB HIM!"

Meta Knight reluctantly ran up and grabbed Kirby by his arms. Kirby was crying like a baby.

"Go put him in the prisoner cellar."

"Your Majesty...he's terrified please..This is Kirby.."

The King was shaking in anger.

"I DON'T WANNA LOOK AT HIS FACE FOR ANOTHER MINUTE! GET THAT KIRBY OUT OF MY SIGHT RIGHT NOW!"

Meta Knight shook his head.

"I thought you said you believed in him."

The King scoffed. He realized Meta Knight was right. It wasn't Kirby who did this...it was that virus that made him do it. Kirby had absolutely no idea why he was being yelled at. The King exhaled in defeat.

"Okay. Let him go."

Meta Knight let go of Kirby and he rushed into King Dedede's arms. He hid his face into his chest and cried hysterically. He grasped the Kings robe with his hands.

The King rubbed Kirbys back.

"I'm sorry Kirby.." He said. Kirby looked up at him. He had blood and tears smeared all over his face. King Dedede looked into his eyes and he saw that twinkle. Seeing that twinkle somehow made everything better.

"Kirby, you can use my washroom. Go get yourself cleaned up." He patted Kirby on the back and he ran up to the Kings chamber. The King put his hands over his face. He then quickly took him off realizing when he hugged Kirby he had gotten blood on his hands. He removed his gloves and threw them onto the ground. He still had tears flowing down his cheeks.

"Your Majesty, I'll send for someone to take care of them. I'll make sure they have a proper burial."

The King nodded.

"I can't believe Kirby did this." He said. "He...murdered them."

"I...I'm sorry sir. But...you were warned. We all tried to warn you. I went back and talked to the doctor today about Kirby."

The King was listening.

"And...he said...to give Kirby this." He pulled out a syringe.

The King looked at Meta Knight with revulsion.

"Unless that's a cure, you better get that out of my sight."

"No. No..it's not a cure."

The King turned around and walked away angrily. Meta Knight ran in front of him and blocked his path.

"If we stop him now, he won't hurt anyone anymore." Meta Knight said.

"What are you saying?"

"This is a serum...made for this virus. When you inject Kirby with it..It..." Meta Knight began to choke up.

"No..." The King couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"When you inject Kirby with it..It will peacefully put him out of his misery. He'll just fall asleep...And just never wake back up."

The King turned away from Meta Knight.

"Get out of my castle." He said.

"What?"

The King got in Meta Knights face and screamed at the top of his lungs.

"I SAID GET OUT OF MY CASTLE."

"Please...think of all your Waddle Dees! Who is gonna be next your Majesty? I know Kirby seems sweet and innocent now, but he's gone! The Kirby we know is gone!"

"You were just trying to talk me out of arresting him and now you're plotting to kill him? Whose side are you on Meta Knight?"

"I didn't wanna scare him...He doesn't know what's going on."

"He doesn't need to know what's going on! I'm tellin' ya! He's gonna pull though."

"NO HE ISN'T!" Meta Knight smacked King Dedede across the face.

The King was thrusted backwards. Meta Knight watched him in anger.

"I said get out of my castle. And take that disgusting 'serum' with you. I don't ever wanna see you around my castle or Kirby ever again. Consider that an order from your King."

Meta Knight with no words left to say to the King turned around and left the castle.

King Dedede ran up to the room where Kirby was.

"Kirby are you alright?" He poked his head through the door. There was small drops of blood on the floor. He stepped into the room.

"You in here?"

The King heard a low growling sound. It sounded like a monster. He slowly followed the sound until he reached the washroom door. It was cracked open slightly.

"Kirby?..." King Dedede poked his head inside.

Kirby was sitting on top of Waddle Doo. He was making weird sounds and moving his hands around.

"Kirby?"

Kirby turned around. Waddle Doo was dead. Kirby had blood smeared all over his face and he was literally eating Waddle Doo. He looked at King Dedede and screeched at him. The screech made the Kings stomache drop. It filled him with paralyzing fear. His eyes were red. The twinkle was gone.

King Dedede slammed the door. He went to run away but Kirby busted through and tackled him. He loudly hissed and let out a shrill screech. It sounded almost identical to Malice. Kirby grabbed the King by the head and slammed it against the ground again and again. Kirby took him by the leg and threw him against the wall. The King felt his bones shatter. He looked around for a weapon. There was nothing. Kirby was hissing, growling and twitching as he was rampaging about. The King gasped in fear. He ran into the washroom and barricaded the door. He looked over and saw Waddle Doo's slaughtered body.

"Oh no..." He began to cry. "Waddle Doo..."

The door began to shake and rumble. On the other side Kirby was scratching and banging at the door trying to get inside. The Kings heart raced. He needed to think fast. The door began falling apart. Kirby was about to break through. The King was almost out of options. He looked and saw a plunger by the toilet. He grabbed it.

"Kirby, don't you come in here!" He yelled.

Then the door shattered and Kirby came in. His eyes were dark red and he was twitching rapidly. He walked slowly towards him.

"I'm warning you!" The King pointed his weapon at him. "I got a plunger and I'm not afraid to use it!"

Kirby opened his mouth wide and a loud explosion of a roar came out." It was the most terrifying sound King Dedede had ever heard. It didn't sound like Kirby at all. The King smacked Kirby with the plunger. He took it out of his hands and snapped it in half like a toothpick. The King was now defenseless.

"Kirby...please!" He begged. Kirby took the broken plunger that was snapped in half and pointed at his face.

"Kirby no!" The King shielded his face and prepared to be stabbed when he heard a clank. He peeked out one eye. The plunger was on the floor. He slowly looked up.

Kirby had unsnapped. He was looking around the room in horror. King Dedede once again, was huddled into a corner. Kirby looked around the room some more. He seemed confused.

"Kirby..is that you?" The King said.

Kirby ran up to the King and took his hand. He brought the King back up onto his feet. The washroom was in shambles. The King quickly stood in front Waddle Doo so Kirby didn't see him.

The King was still breathing heavily. Kirby was still covered in blood.

"You ok Kirby?" The King said.

He nodded.

"Hey, come here for a second, you got somethin' on your face."

Kirby walked up to him and the King took a towel and wiped all the blood from Kirby's face and body.

With Kirby's face still hidden the towel the King rushed Kirby out into his bedroom where it was blood free, besides a few small drops he probably wouldn't notice.

He took the towel off Kirby's face. He was clean and pink and his eyes were big and blue. The King himself, waking up to a rocky start didn't look too good.

All he cared about right now was Kirby. The King put his hand on his shoulders.

"Kirby, I just want you to know that everything's going to be okay."

"Huh?" Kirby was confused.

"I know you don't really understand what's going on right now...But I just want you to know that I'm not going to give up on you. Even if everyone else already has."

Kirby looked at him with a puzzled look. He rubbed some dirt off the King's shoulders. He looked into his eyes and frowned.

"What's wrong, Kirby?"

Kirby licked his finger and wiped the tears from the Kings eye.

He smiled.

"Thank you Kirby."

Once again the King saw that twinkle. As long as he kept seeing that twinkle it felt like things were going to be okay.

Kirby ran back into the Kings bed and curled up into the blanket. The King walked up the balcony doors and stepped outside to get some air. The sun was fully up now and the sun was shining. It was only day two and Kirby was already getting worse. There was just one more day left until 'they' claimed Kirby won't snap back. The King thought about that serum Meta Knight had. Was that the best option? Is it really gonna have to come down to that? Will this virus really take Kirby over? Even though the odds were looking grim the King kept his head up. Was he scared? Yes. Was he worried for his life? Yes. Was he about to sit back and watch Kirby lose himself to this virus and lose his life to it?

Not a chance.


	6. The Flowers

**Ladies and Gentlemen, before we begin, I would to thank my good friend, Derula for proof-reading this chapter for me! Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 6: The Flowers

It had been only a few hours since the Waddle Dee massacre. As promised, Meta Knight arranged for the mess to be cleaned up: the bodies were cleared out the Castle Hall and the blood wiped up. Waddle Doo was removed as well. The King had to take a long, hot shower to get all the mess off of him. He couldn't get the images out of his head. What he was wishing was just a dream was very real. Kirby... sweet, innocent little Kirby murdered Waddle Doo and all the Waddle Dees...

Wait!

It wasn't Kirby though! Kirby had nothing to do with it! It was the virus! Should Kirby be held accountable for something a virus is making him do? Kirby is nothing more than a mere host. His body being used, just like anyone else's body would be used. But what Dedede wanted to know, was... when the virus was taking control of Kirby's body... where does the twinkle go? Where does his soul go?

The King stepped out of the newly cleaned washroom with all the filth from earlier scrubbed off of him. He was wearing a new, clean robe and his trademark hat. Kirby was sitting on the floor by the balcony, scribbling drawings on some paper. The bite marks on him were looking really nasty. They were slightly larger and had dried liquid crusted around the edges. The King took a seat next to him. Kirby was drawing pictures of himself and the King. He picked one up and laughed at the crudeness of the drawing. It was like something a 5 year old made. The drawing was King Dedede giving Kirby a piggyback ride. He drew a sloppy looking sun in the corner and scribbled blue in every white spot to create a sky.

"Nice drawing, Kirby. You're a regular Picasso."

"Poyo!" Kirby blushed.

King Dedede folded up the drawing and stuck it in his robe pocket. Kirby stood up and walked out onto the balcony. The King followed.

"Kirby... do you remember anything that happened earlier?"

Kirby nodded his head, 'no.'

"Did you hear about the Waddle Dees?"

"Poyo?"

The King exhaled loudly in grief.

"Well, Kirby. The Waddle Dees... well..." He teared up a little

"There was an accident in the castle earlier... and they didn't make it. Waddle Doo tried to save them... and he... died as well."

Kirby gasped. His eyes glistened with tears building up.

"But it's okay, Kirby!" He patted him on the back.

"We don't need no Waddle Dees. They was good for nothing anyway. Too lazy!"

Kirby smacked the King's hand off his shoulder and hissed loudly at him.

The King jumped back. After a few moments of Kirby twitching rapidly and jerking around he suddenly was back to normal. He had snapped for a brief moment, but he was already back to his normal self. That was the first time King Dedede had seen him snap so suddenly and quickly. He had never witnessed an actual snapping from regular Kirby to evil Kirby before.

"Kirby, you ok?"

Kirby smiled and nodded. Once again, he had no memory. The King looked at Kirby's face. His eyes would twitch every so often and his head would jerk to the side. He noticed it was becoming more common now. The King looked around the city from atop the balcony. He could see Cappies running around playing, strolling through the town.

"Hey, Kirby what do you say we go for a walk through the town? Some fresh air ought to do you good!"

"Poyoooo!" Kirby squeed.

The King and Kirby left the castle and headed out for Cappy Town. Kirby was just bouncing all over the place like a kid in a candy store. They approached the main part of town, where some Cappys were doing construction work from the Malice attack. They all looked at them walking.

"Hey, look! It's King Dedede and Kirby!" They smiled.

..."KING DEDEDE AND KIRBY?!" They all hid at the sight of Kirby. Many around town were scared of him, knowing what happened with the bite, and the Waddle Dees...

Kirby watched as they all hid from him. The King laughed.

"Aw, don't you worry about them, Kirby! They just, uh..."

The King rememberd Kirby still doesn't know what's going on with him.

"Me and them are just in a heated battle of hide-and-see is all. Nothin' to worry about!" He assured him.

"Poyo!" Kirby smiled.

Some Cappy women observed them from their windows.

"Would you look at that. King Dedede and Kirby together like friends. Who woulda thought?" One said.

"Well... you heard about Kirby didn't ya? He got bit by that monster and I think he's gonna die or something... The King's out there making his last few days special..."

"What a shame, I always adored that Kirby. I'll miss him."

Kirby was always a role model to the Cappys. Some like him more than others, but all in all they all cared for him greatly, even if they were afraid of him during this ordeal.

Some children ran up to Kirby. The King rolled his eyes.

"Hey Kirby, wanna play with us?" One asked.

He smiled at them and looked at King Dedede, as if he were asking for his approval.

The King pondered for a moment. He didn't want Kirby out of his sight, but he felt like he could trust him. He kneeled beside him.

"Alright, Kirby, you go run along and play with these fine kids here." He pushed Kirby away and huddled around the children.

"Alright, you listen here, you little runts." He started.

"Kirby isn't feelin' too well alright? He, uh... has a nasty cold. If you see Kirby start to not look like himself you best get out of there and fast you understand me?"

The kids all looked at each other in confusion.

"Why do we have to run?"

"Because Kirby hates being sick. And when he gets sick he gets angry. And when he gets angry he gets a little scary."

The kids all looked over at Kirby who was chasing a grasshopper going down the road.

"Ew, what's wrong with his head!" One asked.

"Uh... that's the shot he got from the doctor to help with his cold! Ya know, Kirby being a monster... alien... wait... what is Kirby? ...Anyway! His body is just having a weird reaction to the shot. Nothin' to worry about." He laughed.

The children stared at the King awkwardly.

"All right kids, now you go have yourselves a good old time!" He patted them on the back and began to walk away. Kirby ran up to the kids, eager to play with them. He waved at the King.

"Alright Kirby, you have fun! I'll come back for ya later! And remember what I said kids! Run!" He said with a smile. The King strolled off and the kids just stood around looking at each other.

"Kirby? Are you feeling well?"

Kirby nodded and smiled.

"Oh, come on he's fine! It's just Kirby! I mean what's the worst he can do?"

"I guess you're right. Let's go!" And off they went.

Meanwhile, the King walked around town looking around at all the work and construction being done. It was the first time he had seen the town since the accident. Things were looking better. After all, a majority of the attack took place on the outskirts of town near the forest and volcano. The King was slightly worried about leaving Kirby alone with those kids. The denial was in full effect once again. He shrugged it off.

"They'll be fine! Kirby wouldn't hurt no kids!" He exclaimed.

He thought about the Waddle Dees and Waddle Doo. It still hurt to think that they were all gone. He sort of felt somewhat responsible. With a sigh, he kept moving on. He spotted a flower cart nearby. A gyspy looking woman was selling various kinds of beautiful flowers. He headed over to her.

"Hey, I like these flowers you got here." The King said.

"Thank you your Majesty! Would you like some?" She asked.

The King looked at all the beautiful colors and smelled all the enticing aromas.

"You know what? I think I will."

She pulled some out from the top. They were large roses in all sorts of amazing colors.

"Here! Free of charge for the King of Dreamland!" She said.

"Aw, shucks." He blushed. The beautiful woman handed Dedede the flowers. He had a very sad expression on his face as he began to walk away.

"Have a fantastic day, your Majesty! Tell Kirby I believe in him!" She yelled as he walked away.

A tear went down the King's face.

"...I believe in him, too..." He whispered to himself.

As the King walked down the street he kept his head down. He looked at the flowers in his hand. He held them tightly. Since he was alone now, he felt the time was right.

After some time of walking (and a little bit of crying) the King approached the Dreamland cemetery. He entered through the creaky gates and made his way towards a small round stone by a pond. He sat down in front of it and set the flowers down. With tears, he read the inscription on the stone.

'Here lies Waddle Doo. A leader, an assistant, a friend.'

There were more small letters underneath that.

'In loving memory of the Waddle Dees. The faithful, loving servants that so finely served the King. R.I.P.'

The King sobbed as he read the letters. He put his hand on the stone.

"I'm sorry, Waddle Doo..." He sniffled. "And I'm sorry, Waddle Dees. Even though you were lazy and good for nothing you guys were my friends."

The image of their dead bodies kept haunting Dedede's mind.

"Don't blame Kirby for what he did... It wasn't really him... if anything... it was me."

The King put his head down and continued to cry.

"I had a feeling you'd be here..." A voice said from behind. King Dedede quickly wiped his tears and turned around saw Meta Knight by the entrance. He was all cleaned up.

"We didn't have much... it's just temporary, until we can make a better one. They were good servants, your Majesty."

The King scowled at Meta Knight.

"I thought I told you to stay away from me!"

"Well, technically, you told me to stay away from Kirby... and I don't see Kirby anywhere..." He said.

The King continued to grimace at Meta Knight.

"Speaking of which... Where is Kirby?" He asked.

"I came here to grieve for my Waddle Dees and Waddle Doo, and you just come up here and wanna talk to me about Kirby?! Well, maybe I don't wanna talk about Kirby right now!" He yelled.

"It's always about Kirby, isn't it? Well you know what, right now this is about me and my Waddle Dees! Please, Meta Knight, just leave me alone!" He had tears going down his face.

"Your Majesty, I've never seen this side of you before..." Meta Knight witnessed the King's humanity for once.

The King was bawling like a baby.

"My poor Waddle Dees!" He hid his face in his hands. Meta Knight tried to comfort him, but the King smacked his hand.

"GET AWAY FROM ME!" He screamed in his face.

"Your Majesty, I am really sorry about Waddle Doo and the Waddle Dees. Truly, I am. But it all could have been avoided..."

The King was shaking in hysteria.

"How dare you! Can't you just leave me to grieve!" Dedede begged.

"Your Majesty, we're running out of time... I apologize for being a bother to you, but it's gonna be much more than the Waddle Dees at this grave if we don't do something fast."

The King just continued to cry. He had completely lost it.

"With all the time you've been spending with Kirby lately, that could very well be you in that grave soon Your Majesty."

The King shook his head.

"No. Kirby wouldn't do that."

"Just like Kirby was supposed to wake up back to normal?"

"I'm giving him time!"

"There is no time! There is one more day left Your Majesty! At sunset tomorrow Kirby's going to snap and he's not going to snap back, remember?"

King Dedede turned around and backhanded Meta Knight in the face. He stumbled to the ground, looking at the King in horror.

"I've had just about enough of you!"

"I'm only trying to help sire! Our lives are in danger!"

"THIS IS KIRBY WE'RE TALKING ABOUT!"

"You don't think I know that!" Meta Knight was beginning to cry.

"Your Majesty... Kirby is my best friend... he's been there for me since the beginning. He's the only other Star Warrior left besides me... He is very special to me." He began choking up on his words.

"This hurts me more than you know. Seeing this happen to Kirby... It breaks my heart..."

"Then why are you so ready to get rid of him!" The King yelled.

"Because unlike you, I can see reason. I know you care about Kirby a lot. I respect that. You two really have overcome your difference and it says a lot about your character. But what you don't understand, is that Kirby is... he's a lost cause. And yes, it kills me inside to say that. It absolutely kills me knowing that this time next week we could very well be without Kirby. He doesn't deserve this! He has no idea that he's gonna die!"

"He's gonna die?!" The King yelled.

"Well, your Majesty... That virus... you know how it works yes?"

"No..."

"Well... it literally is eating him from the inside out. It's taking over his brain."

"Kirby has a brain?"

"When Kirby snaps and the evil comes out, the Kirby we know is gone."

"But where does he go?"

"He dies, your Majesty. And yes, he keeps coming back. But it won't last forever."

"Kirby... dies." The King repeated.

"It has to hurt him... He must be in some sort of pain... and I know Kirby does not want to go on being evil. He wouldn't want that. If Kirby had to die, he would want to die a hero."

Meta Knight's word were almost making sense to King Dedede. But inside he still had hope.

"Kirby doesn't want to hurt people, it's not in his nature. Don't make him have to live that way. I know you want to keep him here with us, but it's just not going to happen."

"Meta Knight. I'm gonna find a way. I don't care how, I don't care if I die trying. But I am gonna find a way."

Meta Knight just didn't know what to say anymore. Clearly nothing was going to get through to the king.

"You hear that?" Meta Knight said.

"What?"

There was screaming coming from the town.

"Where did you say Kirby was?"

The King gulped.

"Ya know... it's a funny story really..."

"Where is he?!"

"I left him alone with a bunch of kids..."

"YOU WHAT!?"

The King shrugged.

"We have to go now!"

Meta Knight quickly flew off into the town, and King Dedede slowly stood up.

"Here we go again..." He muttered. He ran off, trailing behind Meta Knight.

They approached the town, and people were running around in peril. Meta Knight stopped someone.

"What is going on?"

"K...k...Kirby's gone nuts!" He yelled before running away.

Meta Knight looked around. People were going into buildings and locking the doors.

"Your Majesty! Where are the children?"

King Dedede, panting in exhaustion, finally showed up at the scene.

"Oh, here I am, Meta Knight! Thanks for waiting up!" He said sarcastically.

"Your Majesty, you put the lives of children in danger! What were you thinking!"

"I told them to run! It's not my fault they didn't listen! ...No good kids."

Meta Knight scrambled around town in a frenzy. It was like a riot was happening.

King Dedede began to sidestep away.

"I'm... just gonna hide now..." He quickly trotted off and hid in an alleyway behind a dumpster. There was a crying child in the alleyway with him.

"Hey! You're the kid who was playing with Kirby!" The King said.

The child look over. She had a black eye and her face was busted open.

"Ouch! What in the heck happened to you! You look like hopscotch gone wrong!"

The girl was crying.

"Kirby attacked me!" She yelled.

"I told you to run!" The King said.

"I did! We were playing house, and suddenly, Kirby started twitching and making really scary noises! His eyes turned red and he just started attacking us! Everyone else made it out except me!" She yelled.

"Well you shoulda ran faster! I tried warnin' ya!"

"I think Kirby had more than a cold!" She said.

"Nahhh. Like I said, he just hates being sick is all... he didn't kill any of ya did he."

"WHAT?"

"Heheheh... I'll take that as a no! Carry on little girl... and, uh... you might wanna do something with your hair, it's kinda, uh..."

The little girl erupted in tears and ran off.

"Pffft. What a baby." The King scoffed.

Meanwhile Meta Knight made sure everyone was safe inside. He looked around for signs of Kirby.

"Kirby, come out now!" He yelled.

He heard a rustle. A shadow ran past him.

"Kirby! I don't wanna have to hurt you."

There was nothing.

"Just come quietly, and everything will be fine..."

The King was watching in suspense.

Meta Knight was in full alert. He had his sword out and was ready for anything. He saw a shadowy figure on top of a building. It was Kirby.

Meta Knight stepped a little closer.

"Kirby, come down from there." He yelled.

Kirby picked up something large and held it over his head.

"What do you have there?..." Meta Knight grew nervous.

"DIE!" A squeaky voice yelled.

"Did he just... talk?" King Dedede said.

Kirby emerged from the shadows, holding the woman's flower cart.

Meta Knight turned around to run as Kirby hurled the flower cart towards him. It smashed against the ground and shattered into pieces, littering flowers everywhere.

"Wait a minute! That's the cart I went to earlier!" King Dedede stood up.

"I gotta go make sure she's okay!" He ran off through the alley.

Meta Knight, just barely missing the attack, flew up to the building where Kirby was.

Kirby immediately went into full attack mode. He and Meta Knight began to fight on top of the building. The Cappies watched in horror. Meanwhile, King Dedede anxiously ran around town searching for the Flower-cart gyspie. He looked around in panic. There as so much chaos he didn't even know where to begin.

Kirby and Meta Knight continued to brawl on the rooftop. Meta Knight finally took out his sword again and went to swipe it at Kirby, but to his shock, Kirby caught the sword right in his mouth. Meta Knight froze. Kirby, with blood dripping down the side of his mouth began laughing manically. Meta Knight backed away in fear.

"Kirby... Come on... snap out of it!" Kirby was just laughing and laughing with the sword in his mouth. He pulled it out and wiped the blood from the side of his face. He started walking towards Meta Knight, almost to the edge of the building.

Kirby pointed the sword at him. He was hobbling over the edge.

"Kirby! Come on, you're better than this!" Meta Knight yelled.

The King searched every alley and every corner of the town, but the woman was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, I hope Kirby didn't hurt you!" He yelled. Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw her! She was sitting against a tree. He ran up to her.

"Miss! Are you alright!?" When he ran up to her she slowly looked over at him. She was breathing heavily and was very badly injured.

"Oh, no not again..." The King said.

"Hey... it's the King of Dreamland..." She weakly said. She had a plank of wood impaled into her stomache.

The King knelt beside her.

"I can take to you to the hospital, come on!" He tried to pick her up, but she shook her head 'no'.

"Don't worry about me, King... I've always wanted to be a flower..." She said.

"Don't say that! Please don't say that!"

She took his hand.

"Tell Kirby... thank you. And be sure to bring me some beautiful flowers sometime... King of Dreamland..."

The King was in tears. Her hand fell from the Kings and she was dead.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!..."He yelled as he hugged her.

Kirby had claimed the life of yet another victim.

Meta Knight looked at Kirby and behind the red eyes he saw something. He looked closer. It was a very small, very faint twinkle. Kirby was in there!

"Kirby! It's me, Meta Knight! Come on, Kirby, I know you're in there?"

Suddenly Kirby unsnapped, and his eyes returned to normal.

"Huh?" He looked at Meta Knight confusingly and the sword fell from his hands.

Meta Knight smiled.

But not for long, Kirby immediately snapped again and attempted to grab the sword; but Meta Knight grabbed it before he could. He lept over Kirby and cornered him.

Kirby jumped off the building onto the ground below. He messed up his landing however, yelping as he hit the ground. Meta Knight looked down.

Kirby had unsnapped. He was sitting there, holding his foot tearing up. He looked like he was in pain. Meta Knight jumped down to see if he was okay.

"Kirby... are you okay?" He slowly approached him.

Kirby turned around and screeched in his face. He had snapped once again, and was crawling towards him since he couldn't walk. Meta Knight jumped away from him and tried to find King Dedede.

"YOUR MAJESTY!" He yelled.

Kirby was slowly getting up, and he was quickly able to walk again. He shook off the pain and glared at Meta Knight.

"YOUR MAJESTYYYYY!" He yelled once again.

King Dedede came running up.

"Oh, thank-"

THWOMP!

Kirby kicked Meta Knight in the head sending him down. The King stopped when he saw Kirby. He was frozen in fear. He waved nervously.

"Hi, Kirby..." He yelled.

Kirby twitched a few times before his eyes turned blue once again. He smiled at the King.

"Hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!" He yelled.

Meta Knight yelled for the King.

"Your Majesty!"

Kirby walked up to Meta Knight and stomped on him.

He was in a furious bout of snapping and unsnapping.

"Kirby, no!" The King yelled. He ran up to Kirby and Meta Knight. Kirby looked up and hissed at him. He saw the look of evil in his eyes. It was horrifying. Kirby was like a zombie.

He took out his hammer and smashed it against Kirby to get him off Meta Knight. Kirby tumbled into the ground and looked at the King. He had unsnapped once again.

Meta Knight got up. Kirby's unpredictable snapping was getting out of control.

"Your Majesty, we must do it now."

Kirby was rubbing his head in pain.

King Dedede pointed to him, showing Meta Knight that he had unsnapped.

"I have the serum still, we can end this now." He said.

"Shhhhhhhh!" King Dedede tried to hush him.

"No! This is it! I've had enough! I love Kirby, but this has to stop now! He's out of control! If you don't do something, I will!"

"Meta Knight, please! Wait one more day, give him a chance!"

"How many chances is he gonna get! How many people have to get hurt!"

"Meta Knight, please!"

"You need to get with the program your Majesty! Kirby is gone! He has been bit! It's over! He's going to turn evil and that is that!" He yelled.

"We need to stop Kirby now! Do you understand me!"

"No, Meta Knight, please stop! You don't understand!"

"SHUT UP!" Meta Knight screamed.

"You keep trying to tell me Kirby's going to be fine, and he's going to come to, well guess what? HE'S NOT! Either we gotta end it for him, or Kirby is going to die!"

"Poyo?"

Meta Knight and The King looked over at Kirby.

He was looking at them with horror. He had tears rolling down his cheeks. He had heard everything they said.

"Kirby... no... this isn't how I wanted you to find out..." Meta Knight said.

The King ran up to Kirby.

"Come, on Kirby! Let's get-"

"NO!" Kirby yelled.

Kirby slapped his hand off of him. He wasn't snapped, though. He looked at the King with tears in his eyes. He rubbed his bites.

"Kirby... come now... Meta Knight didn't mean any of that..." The King tried to comfort him.

Kirby backed away slowly from them.

Meta Knight sighed.

"Kirby... listen... I need to tell you something that the King has been keeping a secret from you."

Kirby was still.

"When you were done fighting Malice... We all thought she was dead... turns out we were wrong. She bit you. And when she bit you, you were poisoned by her venom. It's called the Evirus and it's going to turn you evil..."

Kirby was shaking his head in denial.

"Kirby... you've been snapping in and out of this virus, and it's turning you into a monster."

The King was beginning to cry. Kirby continued to listen to Meta Knight.

"Kirby... you've tried to kill the King multiple times... do you remember any of that?"

Kirby shook his head. He was covering his face in shame.

"You... you murdered Waddle Doo and all the Waddle Dees."

Kirby just kept shaking his head.

"Meta Knight, please!" The King begged.

"Kirby, this virus is gonna kill you. Tomorrow at sunset you're gonna snap and you're not gonna snap back. You are gonna be evil forever."

"DON'T TELL HIM THAT!" The king roared.

Kirby couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Kirby... If you just let us... We'll end it for you. I know you don't want to be evil."

"Huh?"

Meta Knight held out his hand.

"I'll make it stop."

Kirby started backing away.

"Kirby... please." Meta Knight walked closer.

Kirby with tears in his eyes turned around and bolted off into the woods.

"No!" Meta Knight yelled.

"Good job, Meta Knight! Real nice!" The King yelled.

"He needed to know the truth."

"Looks like he's going towards his house... I'll go follow him-"

"No!" Meta Knight yelled.

"Let him be alone. He needs to think about what he wants to do."

"You didn't give him much of a choice..." The King said.

Meta Knight sighed.

"He needs to be at peace with himself."

"How can he be when you just told him what you did?"

"Your Majesty, he needed to know! What was he gonna do when that virus took him over? He's gonna be terrified!"

"It's not gonna happen."

"You know, you keep saying that... but you haven't done anything to try and help him."

"What are you saying?"

"What are you doing to help him? Playing with him? What's that gonna do?"

"Well... I... I guess I don't know."

"You're so selfish. You don't have any friends of your own so you're keeping Kirby around; that's not fair."

"What! How dare you!"

The Cappies were watching them argue from the windows.

"My money's on the King, what about you?"

The King and Meta Knight continued to squabble.

"Face it! You're an old, pathetic excuse of a King! Nobody likes you! The only reason Kirby likes you is 'cause he likes everyone! And if Kirby's gone, you have no more friends!"

"The Waddle Dee's were my friends..."

"They were your servants!"

"But Waddle Doo..."

"Was also a servant!"

"He was my friend..."

"Your Majesty, just wake up and smell the flowers! No one is your friend! NO ONE! You probably don't even care about Kirby at all."

Hide message history

"That's not true!" The King cried.

"Then prove it! Put Kirby out of his misery." Meta Knight held out the syringe.

"If you really cared about Kirby, you'd end his suffering."

The King looked at the syringe. It was filled with a dark blue liquid. That liquid, if injected into Kirby's bloodstream, would kill him peacefully in a matter of seconds.

He shook his head.

"No."

"Then what are you going to do?" Meta Knight asked.

"I'm going to believe in him. Because unlike you..." The King started

"I wanna see Kirby make it."


	7. A Falling Star Warrior

Chapter 7: A Falling Star Warrior

Kirby entered his small home outside of Cappy Town and slammed the door shut behind him. He had so many emotions going through him right now he didn't know what to do with himself. He was shaking in anger.

_What is..happening..to me? Why...why do I feel so...weird? _

His insides were on fire and his head was throbbing. He ran up to a small mirror hanging on the wall. He observed himself. He glanced at the dark bite marks on his head. He poked them and they hurt to the touch. He grimaced at the pain and rubbed his head to soothe the pain. He was panicking.

_What did Meta Knight mean..Why is he being like that? What..do.._

Kirby felt his body begin to act up. Something didn't feel right. He was twitching again.

_Oh, no it's happening..please...stop!..._

Kirby shook his head and looked around. His room was a wreck. His bookcase was knocked over and windows were shattered.

_What just happened?! Why is the room destroyed? Wait...I did it again! I became evil! Just like they said..._

Kirby went up to the mirror once again. The bite marks were even bigger than once before. He felt dizzy and weak, and noticed he had lost a long track of time.

_How long was I doing this?..Why...why me? _

Kirby felt like he was going to cry. His stomache was in knots, his head was in an unbelievable amount of pain and he felt like everything was over for him.

_This is why King Dedede has being so nice to me! Why am I so stupid! _

He screamed loudly, fell to the floor and began to cry. He didn't know what to do. He was scared. Suddenly the feelings came back.

He felt his eye twitching rapidly.

_NO! STOP! FIGHT THIS, KIRBY, YOU CAN DO IT! _

Kirby stood up and stomped on the ground, trying to keep himself conscious. He focused very hard and tried to distract his mind from snapping.

His body was quivering and he felt like he was almost going to vomit.

_COME ON, KIRBY!_

With every piece of strength had he tried to prevent this virus from taking him over.

Suddenly, Kirby was lying on the ground. It looked darker outside. His head felt woozy, and he felt really out of it. He lifted himself up. He was on the other side of the room this time.

_NO NO NO NO! _

Kirby had snapped once again.

"AHHHHHHHH!" He screamed as he shot up and ran to the mirror once again. His body was shaking with rage. Kirby looked at his reflection. He had bags under his eyes, he was covered in dust and dirt. He had what looked like blood dripping from his wounds. He grabbed the mirror off the wall, threw it across the room and watched as it shattered into pieces. Heavily breathing, he walked up to the shattered remains, clenching his fist in anguish as he looked around the destroyed room.

With tears streaming down his puffy cheeks, he began to pick up the pieces that sprawled across the floor.

"Ow!" He dropped a shard and looked at his hand. Upon picking up a piece of glass, he had cut his hand. With a sigh, he wiped the blood off of his stomache. Once he picked up all the pieces, he threw them away in the garbage can outside his house. He went and sat under a tree. He looked up at the clouds. They were slowly moving across the blue sky. Birds were singing, and the grass was green and beautiful. Kirby looked down at the blood that was smeared on his skin. He tried wiping it away, but only made it worse.

"Awhh..." He muttered in annoyance.

_I wonder what everybody thinks of me now. They all must hate me..I'm a monster._

He wiped his tears. The saltiness of them made his wound sting a bit. He leaned against the tree and took in the fresh air. Maybe it would help him clear his head. He struggled inside his mind to comprehend what was happening. It was all so much to take in. The Waddle Dees...Waddle Doo...He lost focus on that for a moment as something caught his eye. He looked over and saw a fish that must have gotten out of water somehow. Kirby rushed up to the fish, which was lying next to a small river nearby. He picked it up. It was a little baby girl. Kirby carried the fish over to the stream with a smile.

Kirby looked up. His vision was slightly blurred, and he was stumbling. He looked down and the fish was gone. He frantically looked around in a rush to find her. The sun looked like it was beginning to set. But how?! It was daylight just moments ago. Kirby looked around, and he suddenly didn't even recognize where he was. Tall trees surrounded him and his home was nowhere in sight. He had snapped once again. He scurried through the woods, anxious to return the fish to the water before it was too late. Kirby had blood splattered all over his body, and he had no idea where it came from or who he hurt.

_Please be okay, little fishy, please be okay! _

With his eyes watering he made his way through the woods, looking around for signs of anything. There were dead animals lying all over the place. Kirby's heart sank. He scrunched his eyes shut.

_NO no no no no! _

His running was interrupted by a squishing sound. He had stepped in something. He stopped dead in his tracks and slowly opened his eyes. He wiped his tears and slowly looked down. He took a step backward. He lifted up his foot and seen the fish on the ground. She was trampled so badly she was almost unrecognizable. Her body was blended into the grass and dirt. Kirby fell to the ground and erupted into tears. He cried hysterically as he looked at the dead fish's body. Sure, it was just a fish...but she couldn't even defend herself.

_I'm sorry, little fishy...I'm sorry! _

Kirby threw himself into the grass and slammed his hands on the ground. He was snapping, and there was nothing he could do about it. This was it for him. His days of being Dreamland's hero were over. He got up as he wiped his tears.

_There's no hope left for me, is there? _

Kirby began to walk once again. He kept his eyes on the ground to avoid looking at the surroundings. He felt horrible for actions he doesn't even remember doing. After a while of walking, he saw his house. He felt a little better knowing he was almost home.

He approached the house and went inside. It was still completely wrecked. Kirby looked around and spotted some paper and crayons. He ran up and grabbed them. The bad feelings in his stomache were coming back. But it wasn't because he was about to snap. With tears pouring out of his little eyes and flowing down his pink swollen cheeks, he began to write something on the paper. His hands were shaking so bad he could barely write. The day was already almost over. Kirby then observed the words he wrote. He sighed and sniffled as he read it. Then the paper was thrown to the floor along with the crayons and the door was left swinging open.

* * *

Morning had come on the third day. Shortly after the sun had risen, King Dedede and Meta Knight agreed to go check on Kirby together to make sure he was okay. They left the castle and headed out towards the woods where Kirby's house was.

"Your Majesty...We're running out of time. Tonight at sunset-"

"Shut up, Meta Knight. I'm sick of hearing your voice." The King interrupted.

"...But sire, what are we going to do once we get there? He may not even be there."

"Well, if he isn't there I guess we're going to have to find him now, aren't we?" The King shot him a nasty glare.

Meta Knight shook his head.

"Well, if you change your mind...and I have a feeling you will..." Meta Knight pulled the syringe out from his pocket.

"I still have this on me."

The King rolled his eyes.

"We ain't gonna need that! Why in the world did you bring that?"

"Well unless you wanna...well, you know, do it yourself..."

"How many times do I gotta tell you he's gonna-"

"He's gonna be fine. Yeah, yeah I know." Meta Knight muttered.

The King and him kept walking on into the woods until they approached Kirby's house. The door was open, the windows were shattered and it was dark on the inside.

"Well this certainly doesn't look promising." Meta Knight said.

The King quickly ran into the house with no hesitation.

"Kirby? Kirby! Where are ya?" The house was empty. Kirby's little bed was covered in debris, there was broken glass everywhere and crayons scattered all over the place.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of. Who knows where he could be! We gotta go find him!"

Looking around the room, the King noticed a piece of paper on the floor. He ran up to it and picked it up. It had scribbles all over it, but it appeared to have a very sloppy message on here. The King tried to decode the scribbles, but he couldn't understand Kirby's childish jibberish.

"Uh, Meta Knight, can you read this drabble?" He asked.

Meta Knight took the note.

"Oh, wow. Is this supposed to be language? Um...I'll try..."

Meta Knight cleared his throat and began to decipher the message.

**_Darr Keng Ddd and Meeta Natte_**

**_im Kirby and im sad bcause im eveel im gunnu kiip hurteng pepple so im leeveeng __yor ull butter ov wufowt mii so guudbyy dunt coom avtur mii & iam sarry for ben bad plase dunt hat me I stil luv yew gus _**

**_luv, Kirby. _**

"He's run away." Meta Knight said.

"What! Why would he do that!" The King yelled.

"He thinks we're better off without him, so he's run off. At least...I think that's what this note says.

The King stomped around the room.

"GOSH DARN IT, META KNIGHT..." He yelled.

He stormed up to Meta Knight and grabbed the note from his hands.

"Let me take a crack at this!"

The King closely looked at the note. He scratched his head.

"Boy, you must be some kind of sorcerer. I can't make out a word of this!"

"Your Majesty, we have to move...and quick! Who knows where Kirby could be, and if he's snapped or not! Lives are at stake!"

"Move?"

"Yes! Now!"

"Now that's the spirit Meta Knight! We're gonna go save Kirby!"

Meta Knight smacked his forehead in frustration.

"We better go let the Cappies know what's going on! Let's go!" The King grabbed Meta Knight's hand and darted out of the house, back in the direction of the castle.

He ran straight into town square.

"ALL CAPPIES REPORT TO THE CASTLE NOW!" He yelled as he ran through the town.

"What's going on?"

"SPREAD THE WORD: EMERGENCY TOWN MEETING IN FIVE MINUTES!" His voice faded as he vanished through the street.

"Well, this must be important."

Meanwhile, The King and Meta Knight stood at the balcony of the castle. The Cappies were gathering outside.

"Your Majesty, this is unnecessary. What are you doing?" Meta Knight asked.

"I'm letting them know we're bringing Kirby home and that everything's going to be okay."

"How is it going to be okay?"

"BECAUSE I AM THE KING AND I SAID SO"

"Well...you are the King...for some reason."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Meta Knight sighed.

"Nothing, your Majesty."

The King approached his people. He held out his big arms and waved at them.

"GOOD MORNING, CAPPY TOWN!" He yelled.

The Cappies all looked at him.

"Now, I know you all probably heard what's going on with poor little Kirby, but I'm here to put an end to this nonsense once and for all."

"Your Majesty, if I could interject-"

"ONCE AND FOR ALL!" The King screamed at him.

"Now, as I was saying!...You all got nothin' to worry about! Tonight Kirby's going to be cured of that nasty virus and he'll be back to his pink bubbly self by tomorrow morning!"

The Cappies cheered.

Meta Knight shook his head.

"You're just feeding them lies, your Majesty.."

The King ignored him and continued on.

"Now, I want you all to be waiting for us in town square tomorrow, you hear? Me, Kirby and Meta Knight here will arrive at dawn, and I want Kirby to have a hero's welcome!"

The Cappies all smiled and cheered.

Meta Knight sat with his head down.

"Now...Kirby has this dumb little idea going through his head that he's gonna turn evil forever...and never come back, so the poor little guy has run off. But worry you not! We're on the case!"

The King had the Cappies all smiling and excited for Kirby's recovery. Even though the King himself was still unsure of how he was going to save Kirby, he knew that when the moment came, he would find a way.

"Way to go Dedede! Go get Kirby!"

"Yeah, we miss him!" They yelled.

The King waved and smiled at them.

"Alright, now you remember what I said about that hero's welcome! Tomorrow, at dawn in Towns Square! I'll see you then! That adjourns our town meeting..Now scram!" The King laughed and turned around to Meta Knight. The Cappies all rushed off to get ready for Kirby's return.

"Alright, let's go!"

"Go where?"

"Go get Kirby!"

Meta Knight stood up and walked away.

"I'm not coming." He said.

"What do you mean you're not coming?"

"Your Majesty. You are insane! There's no nice way to put it, but you are not all right in the head! You seem to be in some weird little world of your own, and I'm not gonna be a part of it! If we go out there to get Kirby, we're gonna die. You won't listen to reason."

"But, Meta Knight.."

"Here...take this." Meta Knight held out the syringe.

"You'll know when the time comes." He said somberly.

The King scowled at him.

"You know, you're some piece of work, you know that? Kirby loves you. And you know it. So why don't you believe in him?"

"It's not that I don't believe in him, it's that.." Meta Knight's voice began to crack.

"And I thought you were the one telling us we gotta move...I'm trying to move and now you're backing out?"

Meta Knight turned towards the King. His eyes were glistening.

"You don't understand. I love Kirby. He is very special to me. I remember when he first came here...I remember when we battled for the first time. I've watched him grow from a clumsy little shy kid into a strong, brave and heroic warrior. I don't...I don't wanna see him go. I know he needs to be stopped, but..I can't watch Kirby die. I thought I could...but I just can't."

"Meta Knight, you don't understand..Kirby isn't going to die."

"You know, you're starting to sound like a broken record."

"Please, Meta Knight. I can't do this without you." The King held out his hand.

Meta Knight looked at his face.

"I promise, you will not have to watch Kirby die."

Meta Knight had a feeling of uncertainty.

"Why would you promise such a thing?"

"Because, I'm the King, and what I say goes." He sternly said.

Meta Knight managed to crack a smile.

"Okay. I'll come with you. As long you keep your promise."

"Well...I'll try my best."

"If it comes down to it...you must be the one to do it. Kirby trusts you. He wouldn't be none the wiser."

The King laughed nervously.

"Uh...let's worry about that when we get there..." He said.

Meta Knight put the syringe in his pocket, and him and Dedede began to head out towards the forest.

"You know...for a puny little gumball...You're alright."

"You're not too bad yourself...you know, for being a giant blue penguin with an obnoxious hammer."

"Well, Meta Knight, there is one thing I don't understand about you..."

"And what is that?"

"Why are you so for...uh...how do I put this nicely..killing Kirby..but you don't wanna be the one to do it?"

The King asked as they headed out for the woods. Meta Knight paused for a brief moment and looked up at him.

"Well...a little birdy once told me...that if anyone was gonna take down that pink puffball...it was going to be him."


End file.
